Plumbing Advice?

[scottiac]

Well, I haven't done anything (useful) to my truck lately, so I'll ask about the junk I *am* doing right now, which is trying to figure out some home plumbing stuff.

Has anyone worked with PEX before? We have 60 year old galvanized for much of our plumbing; it is at and beyond its design life, and needs to be replaced.

My options at this point are copper and PEX, or so I think.

Advantages of copper:

It's easily available everywhere
A known quantity that will definitely do the job
I have friends with experience sweating copper, shouldn't be too big a deal


Disadvantages of copper:

Quite expensive these days
A lot more work


Advantages of PEX:

Cheaper
Much easier to work with
Should be able to get much faster hot water to the fixtures with a "home-run" configuration (saving energy, etc)


Disadvantages of PEX:

Not available in any local hardware stores
Few contractors around here know anything about it


Anybody got any advice or cautions for me that's worked with both or at least with PEX?

[MTL_4runner]

I've used both and I know alot of the contrators around here are switching to PEX too. It's harder to work with to get the joints right and kinking the pipe is a major no-no, but you don't need to worry about doing elbows or bends and they can be snaked alot easier than copper pipe for sure. I used copper in my own house but that's just because the house was already set up with copper everywhere. If I was putting in a brand new system from scratch, I'd probably use PEX.

Good articles and discussions on the subject:
http://www.builderonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=28&articleID=376862
http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27562
http://www.ridgidforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8268
http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=3646

[slosurfer]

ONe of the really good plumbers that I work with swears by the PEX. It must be easier to work with also considering he only has one arm. I have been on quite a few jobs with him and haven't heard of any problems or leaks.

[Seanz0rz]

you need to to check your local building codes. i know that pvc and abs are not approved for water delivery. at least here they are not. i believe pex is, but you need to check first. usually for stuff like this, they will not grant you a hardship and waiver your construction. they will require you to remove it and replace it with copper.

you might need a permit.

all that being said, i like pex over copper as it doesnt transmit ambient temperature to the water in the pipe as easily as copper. this will eventually save on energy costs, and you should be wrapping most of your pipes in insulation anyway. pex is alot easier to work with, etc. last i checked it was still pretty expensive around here, but that was a few years ago, and with the dramatic rise in copper, im sure its alot cheaper than your alternatives.

[PirateFins]

I just helped a friend install some PEX in his house. It was very easy to work with and found all the supplies we needed at Lowes (tubing, fittings, etc..).

[MTL_4runner]

I was contemplating putting in a new bathroom and asked my friedn who was a licensed plumber what he thought I should do for a layout. Then we got to talking about PEX vs copper pipe so I asked him which was better. He came back with these points...

PEX

PROs
Easy to route, low labor costs
It's what he installs in 99% of the new houses he's doing
Insulates better than copper pipe (although using foam insulation negates this arguement)


CONs

Bows anywhere it's not supported (especially hot lines)
More pressure drop than copper due to no straight sections
Fittings cost $0.50 each and are required at EVERY connection
Some chemicals will dissolve PEX causing an instant leak
Requires a special crimping tool
Some plumbers will flat refuse to work with it (think repairs)
Can't be used where it's exposed to UV rays (the polyethylene breaks down when exposed)
Very new, long term problems are still unknown (think aluminum wiring in the 70's)


Copper

PROs

Been around forever, very stable....the gold standard
Better flow than PEX
Much more chemically resistant than PEX
Should be noted that all commercial buildings must use copper for water feed lines


CONs

Needs to be insulated
More labor to install (takes more skill to route, fit and sweat the pipes)
More expensive (price of copper keeps going up) unless you have alot of connections


So I asked him the $25,000 question....."If it was your house, what would you use?"
He replied, "I never install anything but copper pipe in my house."
So I'd have to say that I would have to change my mind and stick to copper as well for now.